An All-Star in 2012, Bryan LaHair should be in Columbus as he works his way back toward the major leagues. Circumstances have him playing in Akron, however, which was a good thing for the RubberDucks Friday night. The first baseman led the RubberDucks to a win in extra innings in addition to headlining the night on the farm. Join Arthur Kinney as he analyzes LaHair's night and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

In this week’s edition of Minor Happenings, the IBI's Tony Lastoria takes a look at the impressive showing this month from Low-A Lake County infielder Paul Hendrix and provides some insight and information as to what kind of prospect he is, where his strengths lie, and whether he can keep up his torrid play. He also takes a look at Low-A Lake County right-handed pitcher Adam Plutko who is having an exceptional pro debut, provides a ton of injury updates with some news of some prospects who could be on the move today, and a lot of information on players such as Justin Sellers, Tyler Sturdevant, Torsten Boss, Eric Haase and others!

Sometimes baseball can be a vicious, what have you done for me lately business. You can ask Scott Barnes about that side of the game. The left-hander was one of the top prospects in the system as recently as last season, but Barnes' struggles in 2013 left him dropping in the rankings and in the major league pecking order. The talent is still there for Barnes, however, as he showed Thursday. Join Jim Piascik as he details Barnes' dominant showing, Matt Carson hitting the ball well, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

Raph Rymes singled home Harold Castro to add an insurance run in the eighth inning, and the Whitecaps defeated the Captains 5-2 on Thursday. Lake County has now dropped five-straight games, and their record on the road fell to 2-18.

The Lake County Captains picked up a pair of wins last week before the team was plagued by a four-game losing skid. The pitching staff struggled, despite the offense's attempts to produce more runs, except for a shutout May 13. Now posting an 11-28 overall record, the Captains sit in the bottom of the Midwest League standings, 12 games out of first place. The IBI's Stephanie Metzger recaps the week that was for the Captains and checks in on how Nellie Rodriguez is adjusting to his second year at Lake County.

No matter how often we see that April stats have little predictive use for the rest of the season, it is hard not to react to someone's extreme highs or lows out of the gate. Following about as bad of an April as you can see, it was easy to pile on Ronny Rodriguez. But Rodriguez's recent hot stretch is yet another reason why we cannot make any profound judgment on April stats. Join Jim Piascik as he writes about Rodriguez's powerful day, Tyler Naquin hitting the ball hard, and much more as he takes you Around the Farm.

In today's debut Coach's Corner piece of the season, the IBI's Tony Lastoria sat down with Low-A Lake County manager Mark Budzinski and talked about several things pertaining to his roster. They discussed Anthony Santander’s role and why he is only DHing, the emergence of Jordan Milbrath, the good start by Adam Plutko, what Dace Kime is working on, what has changed for Robbie Aviles, the new piggyback philosophy and lots more.

The Lake County Captains scored four runs through the first two innings before losing, 8-6, to the Fort Wayne TinCaps Wednesday. Lake County struck twice in each of the first two, but Fort Wayne bounced back to scored five runs in the third. Captains started Adam Plutko took the loss after giving up seven runs on 11 hits in four innings of work. The game ended early due to rain.

The Fort Wayne Tincaps (16-21) shutout the Lake County Captains (11-27) 7-0 in the rainy, middle game of the three-game series on Tuesday evening. The game featured a 77-minute rain delay in the middle of the fourth inning. Lake County has dropped three-straight games.

The IBI Hot List showcases the Top 15 performances from the previous seven days as well as the Bottom 5 performances over the past seven days, and includes insight, information and more on each player listed. Today’s listing includes 20 players and over 2500 words, and highlights players such as Adam Plutko, Paul Hendrix, Anthony Gallas, Joe Wendle, Cody Anderson, Torsten Boss, Jeremy Lucas and many others.

The Lake County Captains dropped their second straight game by losing to the Fort Wayne TinCaps, 10-5, Monday. Lake County held a 3-0 lead early, but gave it up before coming back to tie the game at five. Fort Wayne ended up scoring once in the fifth and four times in the sixth to post the winning margin. Dace Kime fell to 0-6 on the year, giving up 10 hits and six runs in five innings of work.

For the first time this season, The WAR Room is bringing you the 2014 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. Now that we have about five weeks of the season in the books, the numbers are starting to look like something we can use. This week Jim Piascik takes a look at the hitters throughout the system, including Francisco Lindor's torrid start with the RubberDucks, Jesus Aguilar's powerful surge in Columbus, and much more.

After posting 10 runs through six innings, the Lake County Captains allowed the Bowling Green Hot Rods to storm back form a nine-run deficit to tie the game. Neither team scored in the ninth or tenth before the Captains scored off a Bowling Green balk in the 11th. Clint Frazier, Anthony Santander, Grant Fink and Brian Ruiz each tallied two hits while Claudio Bautista scored the winning run.

In this week's week-ending edition of Minor Happenings, the IBI's Tony Lastoria talks about the waiting game for Jesus Aguilar’s arrival in Cleveland and what the Indians are waiting for, provides lots of front office comments on some players at Double-A Akron, provides injury updates on several players including LeVon Washington and Bryan Price, and provides lots of insight and information on prospects such as Bryson Myles, Joe Wendle, Anthony Gallas, Dorssys Paulino and others!

Some nights, nothing of note happens on the Cleveland sports scene. Others go absolutely crazy (and I'm not just talking about the glorious arrival of Johnny Manziel). The big league team got a win Thursday, but the minor leagues were filled with great performances as well. Adam Plutko put together the best outing of his career, Francisco Lindor hit a huge grand slam, Trevor Bauer continued dealing, and that is just the beginning. Join Jim Piascik as he recaps it all and takes you Around the Farm.

The Lake County Captains (10-24) broke their four-game losing streak with a dominant pitching performance and a couple of long balls on Thursday evening at Classic Park. The Captains took game one of the series with the Bowling Green Hot Rods (15-18) 5-1, snapping the Hot Rods’ six-game winning streak.

The Lake County Captains had an interesting week that consisted of an 18-inning game, position players pitching and the departure of Dorssys Paulino. Now 9-24, the team remains in the basement of the Midwest League. One player who isn't struggling is shortstop Paul Hendrix, who will look for more playing time with Paulino gone. The IBI's Stephanie Metzger recently spoke with Hendrix and recaps the Captains' previous week.

Following a down season at the plate in 2013, it seemed like Roberto Perez was hitting the wall. But the new season brought Perez health and a reinvigorated performance as the catcher is enjoying the best offensive season of his professional career. Join Jim Piascik as he analyzes Perez, the continued emergence of Jordan Milbrath, and the rest of the action Wednesday night in the minor leagues as he takes you Around the Farm.

After going up 1-0 in the top of the first inning, the Lake County Captains lost to the West Michigan Whitecaps, 4-1, Wednesday. Lake County was led by catcher Eric Haase, who went 2 for 4, but his run was the only score the Captains could muster. Jordan Milbrath took the loss, despite not giving up a single earned run. He pitched six innings and gave up five hits and three unearned runs to go with three strikeouts and two walked batters.

Available IBI Books

The 2014 Cleveland Indians Baseball Insider book featuring the Indians' Top 100 Prospects and more is now available. Also, previous editions from 2008-2012 are also available at a discounted rate. Just click on the book image for more information. Thanks again for all the support!